Now the EU bullies threaten to FINE Britain over £1.7billion bill row

EU chiefs warned that if the UK doesn't pay heavy fines could be incurred [GETTY]

Tens of millions of pounds in fines could be levied if the UK does not agree to the budget contribution.

And Britain’s £3billion-a-year membership refund could be cut off if we do not obey.

Defiant David Cameron told MPs yesterday that he would not pay “anything like” the £1.7billion being demanded by the European Commission – a demand he said had come “out of the blue”.

But EU Budget Commissioner Jacek Dominik insisted at a Brussels news conference that the UK would be liable for late payment fines if the deadline for handing over the money – December 1 – was not met.

If you open this for future negotiations, you open a Pandora’s box

EU Budget Commissioner Jacek Dominik

He warned that challenging the way the £1.7billion was calculated could also affect the UK annual rebate won for Britain by Margaret Thatcher.

Mr Dominik said it would be “extremely difficult” to change the contributions rules because they also govern the rebate “so if you open this for future negotiations, you open a Pandora’s box”.

A furious Prime Minister was told of the £1.7billion demand at last week’s EU summit. The figure is about a fifth of Britain’s total net annual payments to the EU and is based on an upwardly-revised assessment of the UK’s economic performance. Other countries including the Netherlands, Italy and debt-ridden Greece are also being asked for more but Germany and France are in line for rebates worth hundreds of millions of pounds.

Mr Dominik said he had been surprised by Mr Cameron’s outrage because the figures behind the calculation had been provided by Britain’s own official statisticians.

How the figures for each EU country were calculated will be examined at Britain’s insistence by EU finance ministers on November 7. The Government says the scale of the demand is out of all proportion to previous adjustments.

Mr Cameron told a rowdy Commons: “Britain will not be paying two billion euros (£1.7billion) to anyone on December 1. We will be challenging this in every way possible.”

Related articles

He hinted he would drag out fighting the bill – prompting speculation he hopes to delay any payment until after May’s general election.

He was backed by MPs across the House including Labour eurosceptic Kate Hoey, who urged him: “Do not pay. That is what this country would like to see happen.”

Even Labour leader Ed Miliband said the Commission’s handling of the demand had been “cack-handed and unacceptable”.

Tory MP Philip Davies told the PM: “The British public don’t expect you to hand over a bit less money, or to hand it over a bit later, they expect you to tell the European Union to stick the money. What’s the worst the EU can ask us to do if we did that – ask us to leave? In my dreams!”

Fellow Tory Philip Hollobone urged Mr Cameron to dig out the “Prime Ministerial handbag” used by Mrs Thatcher to “clunk it around the head of the Commission”.

Mr Cameron replied: “You make an excellent suggestion. The metaphorical handbag is still available and there are times when it needs to be used”.